Healthcare: it’s Pennsylvania’s largest employment sector, fueled by an aging population and supported by superb hospital systems like UPMC, which boasts a world-renowned transplant center, and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, ranked among the top hospitals in the nation for pediatric medicine.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Center for Workforce Information & Analysis, job prospects for healthcare administrators are strong, revealing a 19.7 percent growth rate between 2018-2028 to keep up with growing demand.
The median salary for healthcare administrators in Pennsylvania is $96,110.
Factors Influencing Job Growth in Health Administration
Between 2008 and 2018, the healthcare sector in Pennsylvania grew by more than 165,000 jobs due in part to a swiftly aging population. In fact, Pennsylvania has one of the biggest populations of seniors of any state in the nation, home to 2.2 million people age 65 and older according to the Pennsylvania Sate Data Center. In 2020 the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 739,340 people employed as healthcare practitioners, in healthcare technical occupations, and in healthcare support occupations.
The latest stats from the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania reveal that the Keystone State’s hospitals and health systems contribute $129 billion to the state’s economy every year, accounting for one out of every ten jobs in the state and representing the top employment industry in 80% of the state’s counties.
The number of hospital mergers in recent years speak to the sheer magnitude of the state’s health systems sector. For example, Western PA’s UPMC system, which has established itself as a world-renowned healthcare provider, is the largest non-governmental employer in the state, with 87,000 employees working throughout its 49 academic, community, and specialty hospitals and 700 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites.
Salaries for Healthcare Administrators in Pennsylvania, by Location
The number of healthcare administrator jobs in the Philadelphia metro area far surpasses all other metro areas in Pennsylvania – 8,570 jobs vs. the next largest metro for these professionals, Pittsburgh, at 3,780.
At $118,040, Lebanon comes out as a leader for the salaries these professionals earn, second only to Philadelphia, where they earn a median salary of $109.000.
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- 25th percentile: $87,190
- Median: $109,000
- 90th percentile: $182,320
Pittsburgh
- 25th percentile: $70,990
- Median: $89,480
- 90th percentile: $154,140
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
- 25th percentile: $70,270
- Median: $89,850
- 90th percentile: $145,480
Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 25th percentile: $74,460
- Median: $97,640
- 90th percentile: $158,620
A full breakdown of salaries in Pennsylvania’s major cities and non-metro areas can be seen here:
2020 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Medical and Health Services Managers.
Job growth projections sourced from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry and published in the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Long Term Occupational Projections (2016-2026) database – https://projectionscentral.com/Projections/LongTerm.
Salary figures and job market projections represent state data, not school-specific information.
Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed August 2021.